Wait a second, i wanted the caps to miss the playoffs all together, now they got a chance for 3rd!!! Well if we face Ottawa of Florida first round i wouldn't mind. Washington will lose to NJ in the first round anyway if they get 3rd.

Washington is still closer to missing the playoffs than they are to catching Florida. On paper, I think Florida has a lighter schedule than Washington but there is one more head-to-head between them and it's in Washington. I'm not sure how hot Washington has been lately anyway. They are 6-2-2 in the last ten but have only won two of their last six. They've been in a win a few, lose a few pattern for the last month and a half or so.

Yes, I think it's far more likely that the Sabres bump the Caps out of the playoffs than it is for the Caps to catch the Panthers. If anything, the Sabres could catch the Panthers and the Panthers could end up as the 8 seed.

shafnutz05 wrote:Yes, I think it's far more likely that the Sabres bump the Caps out of the playoffs than it is for the Caps to catch the Panthers. If anything, the Sabres could catch the Panthers and the Panthers could end up as the 8 seed.

shafnutz05 wrote:Yes, I think it's far more likely that the Sabres bump the Caps out of the playoffs than it is for the Caps to catch the Panthers. If anything, the Sabres could catch the Panthers and the Panthers could end up as the 8 seed.

Except diff divisions...

Derp...not sure why I was taking BUF out of the Northeast. At any rate, I think the Sabres will be the 8 seed and the Caps will be out.

shafnutz05 wrote:Yes, I think it's far more likely that the Sabres bump the Caps out of the playoffs than it is for the Caps to catch the Panthers. If anything, the Sabres could catch the Panthers and the Panthers could end up as the 8 seed.

Except diff divisions...

Derp...not sure why I was taking BUF out of the Northeast. At any rate, I think the Sabres will be the 8 seed and the Caps will be out.

Perhaps likely at this point. Pens could have a say in that, as a win over the sabres tomorrow would give the Caps new lift.

newarenanow wrote:While the Caps are doing great, I think Florida is crapping the bed as well.

They do have a game in hand though.

It would kind of blow if the Pens are a lower seed than the Caps and still have like 15 pts more.

I never liked that division winner crap

Do what the NBA does, guarantee a top 4 seed to the division winner, not a top 3. There are 3 divisions in each conference in the NBA, yet the worst record out of the division winner isn't ensured a top 3 seed, just a first round home-court advantage.

This way, they still get the benefit of having a first round series in their favor, but it also allows a stronger 2nd place team from another much stronger division to jump ahead of them in the standings:

As it would stand now (assuming the Pens can now squeak out a 4th place finish), the standings under that format would be:

NYRBOSPITFLAPHINJOTTBUF

Much better if you ask me...it's about the only thing the NBA does right.

Guaranteeing a top-4 seed would be smarter because it gets rid of the Pens-Philly and Detroit-Nashville matchups in the 1st round. There's no reason for 2 of the top 3 teams in each conference to meet in the first round

newarenanow wrote:While the Caps are doing great, I think Florida is crapping the bed as well.

They do have a game in hand though.

It would kind of blow if the Pens are a lower seed than the Caps and still have like 15 pts more.

I never liked that division winner crap

Do what the NBA does, guarantee a top 4 seed to the division winner, not a top 3. There are 3 divisions in each conference in the NBA, yet the worst record out of the division winner isn't ensured a top 3 seed, just a first round home-court advantage.

This way, they still get the benefit of having a first round series in their favor, but it also allows a stronger 2nd place team from another much stronger division to jump ahead of them in the standings:

As it would stand now (assuming the Pens can now squeak out a 4th place finish), the standings under that format would be:

NYRBOSPITFLAPHINJOTTBUF

Much better if you ask me...it's about the only thing the NBA does right.

newarenanow wrote:While the Caps are doing great, I think Florida is crapping the bed as well.

They do have a game in hand though.

It would kind of blow if the Pens are a lower seed than the Caps and still have like 15 pts more.

I never liked that division winner crap

Do what the NBA does, guarantee a top 4 seed to the division winner, not a top 3. There are 3 divisions in each conference in the NBA, yet the worst record out of the division winner isn't ensured a top 3 seed, just a first round home-court advantage.

This way, they still get the benefit of having a first round series in their favor, but it also allows a stronger 2nd place team from another much stronger division to jump ahead of them in the standings:

As it would stand now (assuming the Pens can now squeak out a 4th place finish), the standings under that format would be:

NYRBOSPITFLAPHINJOTTBUF

Much better if you ask me...it's about the only thing the NBA does right.